Chapter Text
Tomioka was trying to understand what had just happened.
Rengoku had proposed to him, but that was impossible. He was supposed to have a fiancée, and besides, he probably didn't even like Tomioka.
"You... I... They... We... Tanjiro..." He didn't even know what he was saying anymore, just blurting out random words.
This made Rengoku laugh. He never saw beyond Tomioka's serious and serene expression; seeing him like this was something special.
"We'll discuss that later. First, tell me, would you like to marry me?"
"I'll do everything to make you happy," Rengoku promised, his hands still on Tomioka's face. "I love you. That's all you need to think about before you give me your answer," he assured him, wiping away traces of tears from the Water Hashira’s face. He hated himself for allowing such a thing.
"I love you... And yes, I want to marry you," Tomioka replied panicked. For some reason, he thought this was a cruel joke; he was about to be rejected. But before he knew it, his lips met Rengoku's again.
This time, it was the Flame Hashira who initiated it. After hearing that, his body reacted. He loved Tomioka, and he would show him. At the same time, the Water Hashira banished his fears and returned the kiss with confidence. If this was a dream, he would wake up soon. If it was reality, then he would enjoy it.
His hands tangled in Rengoku's llhair, wanting to melt into that kiss, which burned like the sun.
Rengoku, meanwhile, held Tomioka's waist, wanting him close, wanting to feel that kiss quench his thirst for anything, like a spring in the desert. The kiss continued until they needed air.
Tomioka's face was flushed, and that closeness stirred ideas in Rengoku's mind, ideas that his mother would surely disapprove of.
‘Relax... Breathe... After this, you'll go train like there's no tomorrow,’ he told himself before feeling Tomioka caress his face.
"I love you, Kyōjurō..." Tomioka said confidently, though a little breathless, still catching his breath.
"We have to see my father right now! If I keep this up, I'll do something prematurely!" — shouted the Flame Hashira, confusing his partner and now fiancé.
“What are you doing...? he didn't finish the question as Rengoku carried him bridal style.
“What are you doing? You could hurt yourself, you haven't finished your recovery yet, Kyōjurō. Are you even listening to me?” his complaints fell on deaf ears as the Hashira started running; they needed to get home soon, and it would also help him clear his head.
The other Hashira were on their way back. After Tomioka's escape, they saw Rengoku following him. They figured this must be something the two of them had to resolve together, alone, though not everyone agreed.
"Shouldn't we do something? Tomioka-san seemed really upset when he left," said Mitsuri.
She knew how difficult it was to be rejected, and now Tomioka needed company.
"They'll know what to do. Knowing them both, they're friends again... Well, as close as you can get to be with Tomioka-san," replied Shinobu.
Given Rengoku's personality, she was sure everything had been resolved.
That seemed to be the end of it, until they saw Rengoku rushing off with Tomioka in his arms.
"Help!" the Water Hashira managed to shout to his companions before vanishing in a trail of dust.
He wanted someone to stop Rengoku; this wasn't good for his health, but Rengoku didn't seem to be listening. Perhaps he would listen to them; maybe Uzui or Shinobu would be more convincing.
But from the other Hashira’s perspective, it seemed more like Rengoku was kidnapping Tomioka.
"Are you sure I'm worrying too much?" Mitsuri questioned.
Even she, as Rengoku's student, couldn't explain what was happening with her sensei.
"This is too extravagant, even for me. Are you sure I'm going to get under his skin?" “What’s going on?” Uzui asked, assuming that as
Rengoku’s childhood friend he’d have an answer.
“I haven’t the slightest idea, but it must be Tomioka’s fault,” he concluded, unaware that he was quite close to the answer, though not in the way he imagined.
“I think it’s best not to ask. They won’t tell,” Shinobu said.
Even if it took torture, she’d make Tomioka tell her everything. This was very strange.
‘More than I expected from Tomioka-san,’ she thought.
Himejima had only accompanied them to find out what was happening with those two. Rengoku’s infatuation with Tomioka was quite obvious.
He was still surprised at how his companions didn’t notice things. Rengoku barely paid attention to the world when he was near Tomioka. He knew that he once fell into a river because he was distracted by the Water Hashira.
Regarding the current situation, he had no answer for what was happening.
“I’ll find out later.”
Tomioka had to insist that Rengoku stop by his estate first; he needed to send a letter to his sensei informing him of their engagement. By then, almost at the estate, he had put him down.
Tomioka was annoyed; it wasn't a good start to their upcoming married life.
"Are you completely crazy?" he scolded. "Why did you carry me?! You could have hurt yourself!"
"You have to be very careful," he said before checking on his fiancé. "You're just recovering, you shouldn't have run so much." He added, annoyed, before feeling Rengoku take his hands.
“Sorry, I promise to be more careful, although you do look cute when you're angry," he assured, making Tomioka blush.
"I'm still upset..." he replied, trying to look away.
"I'm sorry to worry you," he said, then kissed Tomioka's hands. "I'm feeling better now."
This elicited a grunt from Tomioka.
“Don't do that again... I don't want to lose you, so you have to be twice as careful from now on," he commented, making his fiancé's heart beat even faster.
"Tomioka, marry me right now. We'll tell my father and your sensei later," he demanded firmly, surprising his fiancé even more.
"No... Urokodaki-san will kill me if I get married like this. He told me that two years ago."
He didn't quite understand why at the day he visited him and spoke about how Kyōjurō Rengoku was now a Hashira, Urokodaki warned him that if he even thought about running away after getting married, he would hunt him down and kill him. Not even when he mentioned sending Tanjiro and his demon sister after him did he react this way.
Although, now that he thought about it, Urokodaki never specified whether he would kill Tomioka for disobeying or whoever he ran away with.
While he was thinking about this, he heard a shout of surprise from his estate. When he turned around, it was Tanjiro.
"I suppose you don't need any more advice..." the younger boy said.
“No... I don't think so..." Tomioka replied sheepishly before pulling away from Rengoku.
“Young Kamado, as my fiancé's successor, we'll be seeing each other more often, so I hope you're ready for the training I have prepared for you," Rengoku said before putting his arm around Tomioka's shoulder. He never wanted to be separated from him.
“What do you mean, 'fiancé'?!" Zenitsu shouted from inside the estate.
He had heard everything, and even though he wanted those two together, this wasn't fair. Why did everyone else get married and he couldn't?!
He ran off to confront Tanjiro—he'd never agreed on this when he’d agreed to help.
"I was supposed to get married first! Do something, Tanjiro! It's all your fault! Ever since you ruined my engagement! Take responsibility!" he ordered, leaving his friend confused.
"You want me to marry you?" Tanjiro asked. That was the only solution he could think of to his companion's complaints.
“What?! No! Why would I want to marry you?!" He started yelling louder, waking Inosuke up angrily from his afternoon nap.
He started chasing Zenitsu for daring to wake Lord of the mountain. Tanjiro tried to calm things down, but ended up getting caught up in it himself.
The scene made Rengoku and Tomioka laugh.
After informing Urokodaki, they headed to Rengoku's estate. The journey was peaceful; they talked about everything and nothing. Above all, it served to make it clear that his heart belonged only to Tomioka. He didn't know, as everyone thought, that he had a fiancée, but it was all a misunderstanding, since he loved only Tomioka and would only ever be his husband.
They arrived at Rengoku's estate late in the afternoon, almost at nightfall.
"Perhaps I should stay here," Tomioka said.
He didn't know how long the meeting would last, but if it got late, it was best to stay somewhere.
"I'll let you have my room," Rengoku said, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "Where will you sleep?"
"I have a lot of training today, so I won't be sleeping," he replied, his eyes fixed on the door.
“That's not good. Sleep with me." Tomioka had a way of looking at life based on how useful or logical something was, something Rengoku loved, but now it wasn't a good idea.
"We'll see," was his reply before going inside.
The person who greeted them was Senjuro, who was cleaning a sake jug that his father had thrown away a while ago because it was empty.
"Brother, you're late." "Hello, Tomioka-san," Senjuro greeted as a smile spread across his brother's face.
“Tell our father to go to the living room. I have some very important news to tell him," Kyōjurō said before taking Tomioka's hand.
"Are you sure? He seemed a little unwell," he tried to dissuade his older brother.
He knew their father was too drunk to make a good impression, and he already suspected something about the news when he saw them holding hands.
"It doesn't matter, this is important. Tell him that our two-year promise will be fulfilled today."
With that single sentence, Shinjuro felt all the alcohol leave his body.
“What, your brother got married without telling me?! He threatened, while trying to tidy himself up a bit to see his son's fiancée.
“Did brother already tell you who his partner would be?" Senjuro asked, to which his father shook his head.
“He didn't tell me anything, but I hope that girl knocks the stupid idea of him becoming a demon slayer out of his head," he commented, causing his youngest son to panic.
He didn't know what would be worse: if his father found out that his brother's partner was a man or a demon slayer. He didn't even want to imagine the reaction.
‘What if he scares Tomioka-san? My brother would lose the person he loves... Should I say something?’ He knew that his brother was the one who should talk to his father about this, but perhaps it would be better to prepare him to avoid a bigger problem.
“Father... My brother's partner... Is a man…” he whispered, but it was loud enough for his father to hear.
“Well, at least we'll avoid bringing more incompetents and shame to this family. I don't need another crazy person like your brother, running around saying he wants to be a demon slayer— he said without much interest.
The truth was, he didn't care much about his son's love life.
“He's also a demon slayer Damn it... He's a Hashira…”
That that really annoyed his father,
“I'm going to kill your brother!” He growled before running off to where he was supposed to see those two; bringing more hunters into this family was inconceivable,
“Father, wait! Let's talk about it!” Senjuro begged.
Upon entering and seeing Tomioka Giyūu, the demon slayer he had specifically told his son to keep as a companion, Shinjuro felt a tiny twitch in his eye that went unnoticed by his son and his partner.
"Father, I know you already know him, but let me introduce him again. This is Tomioka Giyūu, the Water Hashira and my fiancé. I hope you will accept him into this family, as we will marry as soon as possible," Kyōjurō said, holding Tomioka's hand.
He would do anything to be with the man he loved, even if his own family didn't accept them.
"I will strive to live up to the expectations of a member of this family... I know our situation is unusual, but I love your son and will do everything to make him happy," Tomioka said.
He, too, wanted to be with Kyōjurō and would try to make their relationship as peaceful as possible, especially to avoid conflict with his family. He knew how important they were to his fiancé.
Unfortunately, his words fell on deaf ears.
"Do demons beat you up in the head a lot or something?! I ordered you to behave, not to fall in love with him! What were you thinking?! What am I saying? If you used your head, we wouldn't be in this situation!" Shinjuro scolded angrily, almost strangling his son.
"I told you, Father, that I loved Tomioka. I would do anything to be by his side, no matter what the rest of the world did," Kyōjurō replied.
“Do you know what Urokodaki-san will do when he finds out about this?"
“We'll be lucky if he just tries to cut off your head like a demon!" he shouted.
"I don't care, I love Giyūu. I would have married him before coming here if I could have," he said, making his feelings for Tomioka even clearer.
Tomioka tried to intervene in the argument, not wanting his fiancé to fight with his family, unaware of how important this was to him.
"My sensei will accept it. He'll understand my feelings for Kyōjurō," he tried to calm down the situation.
"Yeah, right. Ruka said the same thing. My father-in-law followed me all over town threatening to impale me on a stake," he blurted out angrily, remembering how his family had been the laughingstock of the town for years.
It was almost as bad as when his grandfather had to flee with his wife for a whole year because of the same thing. It seemed like they couldn't get along with their partners' families, and he didn't understand why.
“In defense of my grandfather, you told him after you married my mother, and only when I was about to be born, and before that, you kidnapped her," Kyōjurō explained, provoking his father.
“Shut up! The important thing is that you two won't say a word to Urokodaki-san until I thinks of something!" he demanded, but seeing the knowing look between the two, he knew things were worse than he thought.
“What's going on?" he asked, annoyed.
"Well... we told him before coming here."
"What?!"
"Father, Urokodaki-san is at the door. He says he wants to talk to you."
"What?!"
Shinjuro led the newly engaged couple out of the room. He would speak with Urokodaki to see how he could convince him not to kill his idiot son, even though he himself wanted to.
The atmosphere between the two of them was tense, to say the least.
"I'm glad to know Kyōjurō doesn't have the same problem as his father or grandfather. The last thing I want for Tomioka or his marriage is for it to become the talk of the town, for example, if they tried to get married as soon as they were engaged," Urokodaki said, making Shinjuro feel a weight lifted from his shoulders.
"Also, I don't want him to propose the day they met. He might even misjudge your."
‘If only he knew how I had to beat that brat to make him obey,’ he recalled, but kept his mouth shut.
“Even so, I hope that was the only change in your son’s upbringing, because I demand that he behave himself with Tomioka, show him respect and unconditional affection, because if he hurts his heart, I won’t be responsible for the actions I take against your son.” He left the threat hanging, and Shinjuro accepted it.
His son might be a brute, a blockhead, and even a fool, but he had a good heart. He would take good care of his fiancé, just like all the men in his family.
Outside stood Rengoku and Tomioka, the latter leaning his head against the Flame Hashira’s shoulder.
"I can't believe we're getting married..." Tomioka said, drawing his fiancé's attention.
"Why not? You're the most wonderful person in the world. I want to spend my whole life with you," Rengoku said, bringing a wistful smile to his beloved's face.
"Do I deserve to be happy, Kyōjurō? I lost my sister because I was too cowardly to face a demon. She had to protect me... My best friend because I fainted during the Final Selection and he protected me... I shouldn't be able to be with someone like you..." he said before feeling his fiancé cup his face.
"Those people loved you, Giyūu. If they gave their lives to protect you, it's because they wanted to, and now their only regret must be knowing that you don't believe you're worthy of happiness. They wanted you to be happy, not to live regretting the situation," Rengoku explained.
He knew this better than anyone, because if he were to have died on that train, he would have wanted Tanjiro and his companions to suggest going forward to the end, not with regrets.
"Is that why you never wanted to tell me your feelings?" Rengoku asked, to which his fiancé nodded.
“I didn't think I deserved someone as good as you…” he whispered before receiving a quick kiss on the lips from the Flame Hashira.
“I love you, Giyuu. I would give my life for your happiness. You're the person I should spend my whole life with, and now that I know everything you've been through, plus the wishes of those who loved you, I will take care of you and love you even more.” he assured him, making his fiancé blush, who had something else to talk to Rengoku about.
“Promise me that from now on you'll be more careful and always ask for my help... I know you'll never stop protecting the weak, I love you for that, but at least let me always be by your side?” Tomioka asked.
“If my husband asks me, I'll come back from the dead just to be with you and grow old by your side.” he assured him, making Tomioka laugh.
“We're not married yet."
"Because you don't want to, I'll ask Oyakata-sama to marry us first thing tomorrow," he blurted out, making Tomioka laugh even harder.
"I love you, Kyōjurō."
"I love you even more, Giyūu."